I have just released Ver. 7 of RTGUI, which interfaces to Skycharts (see http://www.rtgui.com ). What is new from the perspective of this forum is the function of the "Skycharts Goto". A new Goto option is, in essence, "let Skycharts handle it." RTGUI does quite well issuing Gotos to the standard Celestron and Meade scopes. However, there are other scopes, especially those that require the reading of encoders (Intelliscope, Tangent, etc.) that RTGUI does not support, but Skycharts does, with its full support of the ASCOM drivers. For that reason, Scope Type 5 now is the "Skycharts Goto" option. When it is selected, the Goto button (which as usual only is enabled when Goto is allowable) does not send anything to the telescope, but instead brings up Skycharts, centered on the selected object. The user then clicks "telescope/goto current object". Assuming that a telescope is correctly configured and attached, the telescope goes to the object selected by RTGUI (a two-step process). In this scenario, RTGUI is used to select the object and to take observing notes on the object (if desired), while Skycharts produces a map, and controls the telescope.
The release announcement for the new RTGUI is as follows: New Release of RTGUI - Major Updates to NGC and IC Catalogs! The new release of the free Windows Real-Time Astronomy Program RTGUI+S ( Version 7, at http://www.rtgui.com ) contains many new features, including major updates to the NGC and IC Catalogs not available anywhere else. The updated NGC object types and magnitudes will agree with the recently-revised NGC/IC Project ( http://www.ngcic.org/ ). As for IC objects, a full 44% of them are cataloged as "unidentified" or unknown in the NGC/IC 2000, and far more are lacking magnitude information the "unidentifieds" have all been resolved, and the great majority specify magnitudes . For the full details on the NGC/IC updates, see http://www.debunker.com/astro/rtgui.htm#NGCupdates . A new feature, the Search Wizard, makes it easy to set up a search for exactly the kind of objects that you want to see: galaxies, open clusters, double stars, etc., optionally selected by constellation, magnitude, elevation, etc. Data in the massive Washington Double Star Catalog has now been correlated with the Bright Star Catalog, resulting in over 2,500 double and multiple stars being identified in the default catalog. Most major constellations are now shown to contain 50 to 100 observable double stars (and far more in the WDS). The principal features of RTGUI are: * A Real-Time program, tells what's visible instantly, using GUI interface or keyboard. No need to prepare observations in advance. Find deep-sky objects, double stars, or other objects by their catalog or common names. Unusually rich search capabilities - each entry has up to five different names (Example: M1, NGC 1952, CrabNebula, Taurus, Planetary) * Create a custom "tour" based on your own criteria (by constellation and/or object type, elevation, magnitude) using the Search Wizard, or let RTGUI+S suggest the "Best" objects to observe, based on your location, telescope, sky conditions, and the time. Save these objects to a file, or print them as a list. * Fully-revised NGC/IC data (not available elsewhere) eliminating nonexistent or duplicate objects, "unknown" object types and most missing magnitudes. Over 2,500 double stars in default catalog, searchable by constellation. * Small and fast - Downloaded self-extracting file is only about 620k. * Controls most Celestron and Meade "Goto" telescopes to slew directly to the selected object! * Using the Skycharts program (Cartes du Ciel), get an "instant sky chart" of the selected object. * Read hand-held GPS Devices or Celestron and Meade GPS Telescopes to set highly-accurate Location and System Time. Read object position from most Celestron and Meade Goto scopes. Upload data from GPS devices to Meade Goto scopes. * Locate Sun, Moon, and Planets, with excellent accuracy. Transient Catalogs exist for automatically finding bright comets, etc. * Can set the "night vision" color palette in Windows. * Displays Altitude and Azimuth of Astronomical Objects, updated in Real-Time, along with Rise, Set, and Transit times. * Automatically record object, time, & location information when the Observing Log is opened * Auxiliary Catalogs allow you to instantly locate hundreds of thousands of objects, using standard astronomical nomenclature, a time-saving tool for observing projects and for research. · Command-Line Parameters allow Scripting for automated operation Robert Sheaffer Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skychart-discussion/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
